Literary Dog Names

Celebs Demi Moore and Bruce Willis made waves in the 80s when they named their now-grown daughter after novelist Rumer Godden. The author was actually born Margaret, with family surname Rumer as her middle name.
 
The name has two possible origins: one, as a last name, possibly from the Germanic hruom meaning "fame, glory", and two, as a play on the word name Rumor, giving it the meaning "story, gossip, information, misinformation, common talk" and so on. For some, the latter may feel like a negative association, while for others, it may give it the edginess of Rebel, Ryatt, and Rowdy.

Rumer

Most often spelled without the final "e"--unless you're a particular fan of writer Bret.

Harte

Calista Flockhart may have made her variation of this beautiful Greek name familiar to modern Americans, but the even-edgier x version was the name of an earlier feminist heroine: a character in Kate Chopin's The Storm.

Calixta

A two-syllable surname feel puts this name of an important English saint in the running -- though it could sound like a confused cross between Duncan and Dustin. 

Dunstan

Plausible literary name to honor upbeat Armenian-American playwright and prose writer William Saroyan. 

Saroyan

Novelist Djuna Barnes introduced this interesting and unusual name with an arty, Bohemian feel to the mix. She explained that it was invented by her father, saying it came about as a combination of her infant brother's pronunciation of the word moon as 'nuna' and a character in a book her father was reading, Prince Djalma, and so he "put the Dj onto the 'una'." Result: the silent-D pronunciation (as in Django) of JOON-a.
 Fellow writer Anais Nin adopted the name for a character in her 1950 novel The Four Chambered Heart, and Woody Allen had a young girl called Djuna in his 1996 film Everyone Says I Love You — nicknamed DJ.
 All in an, an attractive and intriguing possibility, that could be associated with the names Junia or Una, or to the word "moon".

Djuna

Septimus is one of the more dashing of the birth-order Latin number names that were revived by the Victorians. So even if you don't anticipate son number 7, you might be bold enough to consider this relic, certainly preferable to sixth-son name Sextus.
 Septimus was popularized by the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus, a patron of arts and letters. There was a Septimus in Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone, in Dickens's The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and in Trollope's Barchester novels. Probably it is most familiar to modern readers as one of the principal characters in Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, and as Harry Potter wizard, Septimus Weasley. There is also Septimus Heap, a series of bestselling fantasy novels by Angie Sage.

Septimus

Desdemona is as Shakespearean as a name can be, but because the beautiful and innocent wife of Othello came to such a tragic end, her name has been avoided for centuries. But at this point in time, there might be some adventurous parents willing to overlook that.
 Jeffrey Eugenides used the name for a character in his novel Middlesex.
 And for those seeking some celestial cred, Desdemona belongs to the Shakespearean Portia Group of satellites, which also includes Bianca, Cressida, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda and Perdita.

Desdemona

Author Toni Morrison is an acknowledged master of naming, and Sethe, the name of one of the main characters of Beloved, which can be pronounced as Seth or Seth-eh, relates to the male biblical name Seth but is also the name of the Egyptian god of confusion.

Sethe

This name will forever be associated with the Bard and would likely prove hard to live up to. It might be cool for a pet though.

Shakespeare

This biblical place-name for the region now known as Yemen started to feel fresh again as the name of the heroine of Zoe Heller's Notes on a Scandal, played on screen by Cate Blanchett.
 Sheba is probably more ready for prime time than the long-form mother name, although Bathsheba, which means "seventh daughter," has a rich Biblical and literary history. 
 The Queen of Sheba was a monarch of the ancient kingdom of, yes, Sheba

Sheba

Sidda is a name made famous by the heroine of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood; it probably started life as a nickname. 

Sidda

Aphra would make an interesting choice-- especially since it's the name of the first professional female writer in English, the seventeenth century's Aphra Behn. Born in 1640, she was a prolific dramatist of the English Restoration, and a spy.
 The spelling Aphra was probably inspired by the biblical place name Aphrah, but in medieval English records it also had spellings such as Eaffry and Affery, and is thought to derive from Anglo-Saxon names such as Aethelthryth and Aelthryth — which would make it a cousin of Audrey.
 In antiquity, Afra was also a name for a woman from Africa that eventually became a given name, and was borne by several Roman saints.

Aphra

Snow is increasing in usage mostly as a girls' name, but hero Jon Snow of Game of Thrones just might nudge it into the boys' column.  Currently, there are 12 times as many girls named Snow as boys, but its usage is much higher in middle place.

Snow

Literary dog names are perfect for the pets of writers and readers alike. Book lovers will find much inspiration in the names of their favorite authors and characters.

 drawn from the names of authors include Morrison, Eudora, Dante, Bronte, and Shakespeare. Character names that make good literary dog names include Huckleberry, Hermione, Holden, and Heathcliff.

 can be drawn from classic historic literature. Literary names such as Romeo and Juliet are popular for babies today and can work for bookish canines too.  

, such as Eloise, Matilda, and Sawyer, are trending for babies and can also make good literary names for dogs.

, as with Keats, Yeats, and Poem or Poetry themselves. Strong characters from contemporary books turned TV shows are also favored literary names for dogs, such as Aria, Khaleesi, and Snow.

Literary dog names you might consider include the following.

Literary dog names from books, characters, and authors, with meanings, origin, and popularity (Page 18)